--- title: "Terraria Multiplayer: How to Play With Friends" description: "Terraria multiplayer, step by step: Host & Play through Steam, or join a dedicated server by IP and port. Plus the version and Journey Mode traps." url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/terraria/terraria-multiplayer/" category: "Terraria" category_url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/terraria/" published: "2026-09-28T03:14:09.224Z" updated: "2026-09-28T03:14:09.224Z" source_format: "markdown" site: "GameServerKings" --- # Terraria Multiplayer: How to Play With Friends Terraria multiplayer on PC works two ways. With **Host & Play**, one player's game becomes the server and friends join through Steam. With a **dedicated server**, the world runs on its own machine and everyone joins by IP address and port. Both use the same Multiplayer menu. What decides which one you want is simple: whether the world should still exist when the host goes to bed. This guide walks through both, step by step. It covers the Steam invite route, joining by IP and port 7777, and what changes when the server is one you rent. It also covers the three things that actually stop people getting in: mismatched versions, Journey Mode characters, and the wrong port. ## Which way should you play? | | Host & Play (Steam) | Dedicated server | |---|---|---| | Where the world runs | On the host's PC | On the server, 24/7 | | Can others play when the host is offline? | No. "The world shuts down when the player that hosted the world leaves" | Yes | | How friends join | Steam friends list or an invite | **Join via IP**, using the server's IP and port | | Port forwarding | Not needed with Steam | Not needed on a hosted server | | Who carries the load | The host's PC, as well as running their own game | The server | Steam hosting is perfect for an evening with one or two friends. For a world your group comes back to for weeks, use a dedicated server. ## Play with friends through Steam (Host & Play) **The host:** 1. From the title screen, choose **Multiplayer** → **Host & Play**. 2. Pick a character and a world. 3. Choose **Friends Only** (any Steam friend can join) or **Invite Only**. 4. Set a password, or leave it blank. 5. For Invite Only, open your inventory, click **Settings**, then **Invite Friends**, and invite people from the Steam overlay. **The friends joining:** 1. Choose **Multiplayer** → **Join via Steam**. The Steam friends list opens. 2. Next to the host's name, open the menu and click **Join Game**. If it is greyed out, the world is Invite Only, so ask for an invite and accept it from the Steam notification or chat. 3. Pick a character and enter the password if asked. Terraria's wiki notes that this uses Steam to broadcast your world. It is not a dedicated server, and it ends when the host quits. ## Play with friends on a dedicated server This is the route for a persistent world, and it is how every GSK Terraria server works. Nobody hosts from their own PC. Everyone, including you, joins as a player. 1. **Find the address.** The IP and port are shown in the panel, beside **Address** on the Console tab and in the **Network** tab. Share both with your friends. 2. **Wait for the server to be ready.** Watch the console for `Listening on port`, which is the line that means it will accept players. 3. **Join by IP.** In Terraria choose **Multiplayer** → **Join via IP**, select a character, type the server's IP, then its port, then the password if there is one. > [!IMPORTANT] Port 7777 is the default, not necessarily your port > Terraria's server listens on TCP port **7777** by default, and most guides tell you to type 7777. On a hosted server, the panel assigns the port. On our Terraria servers the panel writes that assigned port into the server's config every time it starts, so typing 7777 connects you to the wrong place. Always use the port from the panel. You do not need to forward any ports; that only applies when hosting at home. **Where settings live on your server.** Set the password on the **Startup** tab with the **Password** variable (called **Server Password** on our multi-type image). The panel reapplies it at every start, so a password typed into the console or edited into `serverconfig.txt` does not survive a restart. World size and difficulty are Startup variables too, and they only apply when a world is first created. [Getting started with your Terraria server](/knowledge-base/terraria/getting-started-with-your-server/) covers the full list and how to upload an existing world. > [!NOTE] There is no "Join via Steam" for a hosted server > Steam's friends-list join is part of Host & Play. Our standard Terraria server runs the stock dedicated server and does not start with Terraria's `-steam` option, so friends join it by IP and port, not through Steam. ## The three things that stop people joining ### 1. The versions do not match Every client has to run the same Terraria version as the server. PC Terraria and the dedicated server are both on **1.4.5.8** at the time of writing. The server's **Terraria Version** variable defaults to `latest`, which installs the newest build from terraria.org whenever you reinstall. - If a friend cannot join right after a Terraria patch, one side has not updated yet. Steam updates clients automatically, but the server only changes version on a reinstall. - If you pin a version so a mod or plugin keeps working, every player has to match it. [Maintaining your Terraria server](/knowledge-base/terraria/maintaining-your-server/) explains pinning. - Modded and vanilla never mix. A tModLoader server needs every player on tModLoader, with the same tModLoader version and mods. See [How to mod Terraria with tModLoader](/knowledge-base/terraria/how-to-install-tmodloader/). ### 2. Journey Mode characters and worlds Terraria's wiki puts it bluntly: "Journey worlds can only be accessed using Journey characters, and Journey characters can only play in Journey worlds." The server's **Difficulty** variable picks the world type when the world is created: `0` Classic, `1` Expert, `2` Master, `3` Journey. If half your group made Journey characters and the server world is Classic, they will not get in. Agree on this before anyone creates a character. ### 3. Wrong address or port Use the exact IP and port from the panel, not your own IP, not `localhost`, and not 7777 unless the panel says so. If you get in but a friend cannot, check they typed the port into the separate port prompt instead of adding it to the IP. If the address is right and nobody gets in, the [maintenance guide's connection checklist](/knowledge-base/terraria/maintaining-your-server/) covers the rest, including the `port` console command, which prints the port the server actually bound to. ## What changes when you play together A few rules only apply in multiplayer. They are worth knowing before the first boss: - **You cannot pause.** The world keeps running while anyone is in it. - **Expert and Master bosses scale with the player count.** Boss health, and the kill counts invasions need, go up with each player. More people can make a fight harder, not easier. - **Everyone who hits the boss gets a Treasure Bag** in Expert and Master. In Classic there is one normal drop no matter how many of you there are. - **PvP is off until you turn it on.** Each player clicks the crossed swords by their armor slots to toggle PvP, and the shield icons next to it pick one of five teams: red, green, blue, yellow or pink. Players only hurt each other when both have PvP on. - **Journey research is shared within a team.** Items fully researched while teammates are online are shared with them. ## Can console or mobile friends join? PC players cannot play with PlayStation, Xbox or Switch. Re-Logic's crossplay update ("Crossplay Phase One", 1.4.6) was still unreleased on 24 September 2026, when the developers wrote that it "should be in your hands in the near future". Until then, the one working cross-platform route is PC and mobile meeting on a vanilla dedicated server when both are on the same version. [Is Terraria crossplay?](/knowledge-base/terraria/terraria-crossplay/) covers that route and its limits. ## What to Read Next - [Getting started with your Terraria server](/knowledge-base/terraria/getting-started-with-your-server/) for first boot, Startup variables and uploading your single-player world - [Terraria server commands](/knowledge-base/terraria/terraria-server-commands/) for kicking, banning and saving from the console - [How to install TShock](/knowledge-base/terraria/tshock/) if your server needs accounts, permissions and region protection - [How to mod Terraria with tModLoader](/knowledge-base/terraria/how-to-install-tmodloader/), for modded multiplayer - [Is Terraria crossplay?](/knowledge-base/terraria/terraria-crossplay/) for console and mobile players --- Made with 💜 by GameServerKings